NjHiking.com's Blog (187)

Small parcel of old growth forest with a network of easy, scenic trails near Rutgers New Brunswick campus.

3.8 miles, compact red clay / shale, roots. Somewhat hilly with a few somewhat steep ones. Well maintained trails.

• Shorter: Do only an individual loop like YEL, RED, BLUE, etc
• Longer: Overlap in a YEL or WHT loop or…

A photo guide and suggested New Jersey hikes.

Mountain laurel and rhododendron add beauty to any hike when in bloom, and the dense “tunnels" they often create are especially interesting to hike through.

Though somewhat similar in appearance with overlapping bloom times, there are a few key distinguishing features...…

Pleasant, easy route that follows woods roads, passes Lookout Lake, skirts Wawayanda Lake, and goes to Wawayanda Furnace.

Mileage: 10.9 miles, mostly easy surface.

Wawayanda’s trails are mostly level, woods roads so the hiking here isn’t as rocky or rugged as is usual in the Highlands, or in the Kittatinny range in NW Jersey. The elevation change isn't too bad,…

Hike with history at a scenic park near the site of Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River and the Continental Army’s route to Trenton in 1776.

7.2 miles (by combining the major trails within the park). Surface is dirt/roots, not that many rocks. Some minor hills.

Our two cents: Scenic, historic park that is more suited for easy or…

Hike through pine lands, around marshes, and along beaches while looking for Osprey in nesting platforms.

Easy surface of sand, pine needles, wood chips, boardwalks. Level, no elevation change.

• 6.9 miles: this route, combining all trails in the park
• Shorter: RED Loop (1.7), YELLOW (1.5), BLUE (2.2)
• Combine 2 loops for a 3-4 mile…

Hike around old cranberry bogs through a beautiful section of NJ’s Pine Barrens, and look for wildlife from an observation platform.

Easy, flat, no elevation changes. Soft, pine needle or sand surface. Potentially wet areas and crossings. A section of the YELLOW trail was completely impassable the day we hiked, and we couldn’t complete the loop.

• 6.6…

Trails pass through forests, pines, open fields and along Six Mile Run river in this small multi-use park in Somerset County.

4.4 miles. Easy to moderate trail surface, some small hills.

• Longer: 6 miles: Keep on RED to where BLUE starts, then turnaround and retrace your steps.
• Even Longer: 11.7 miles: RED to…

An interesting combo of forest, fields, and grasslands.

5.3 miles. Easy trail through forest and along fields and grasslands; minor hills.

• Shorter: Blue (.9), Red (1.1) - both loops start from the parking lot
• Medium: Add in parts of Orange (.7), Yellow (.8) and Brown (.9) trails
• Longer: The Brown trail…

Hike over rolling forested hills and along Doctor’s Creek in a small park surrounded by Jersey farmlands.

4.5 miles. Hilly, packed dirt, roots but not a lot of rocks.

• Shorter: Glen loop: 0.7, Bridges loop: 1.8, other loops from combining trails
• Longer: Not really, would have to loop back around to do the inner trails…

Short trails along fields and through forests, with a 30-foot cliff near Ten Mile Run.

3 miles, easy, mostly level. There are two rock-hop stream crossings over Ten Mile Run on the Brown trail, one is potentially tricky.

• Shorter: Yellow loop (1.19) or portions of other trails.
• Longer: continue further on…

A hike is a great way to kick off the New Year. There is nothing like fresh air and an invigorating hike on the first day of the year.

It's also not a bad way to shake off some holiday over-indulgence... although, in our opinion, leftover holiday cookies count as "trail mix".

For New Year's Day hike ideas, try our…

Three short loops that can be combined or hiked alone in this small park surrounding the Ten Mile Run Stream.

4.2 miles, easy; not a lot of rocks or major hills. Multiple rock-hop stream crossings might be tricky when the water level is up.

Our two cents: This has been on our list to check out for awhile and is a nice option…

Sweeping views of the huge cliffs of the Palisades and New York, a rocky hike along the shore, and the castle-like Women’s Federation Monument.

6.4 miles, surface ranges from easy path to rocky trail. Upper and lower portions are level but there is a very steep descent via old and potentially super slippery stone steps (consider reversing this route in wet or icy…

We'd been saving a redo of this route until fall foliage.

However, we couldn't get to it until late Oct. so we weren't sure if this area would be past peak or not but we decide to roll the foliage dice and came up a winner.

Check out the updated Torne…

We hadn't hiked this route in over 5 years, so it was time to head back and try to spot a little foliage.

Why not quite at total peak, the color was quite good. The monument area was hopping with tons of people, bikes, motorcycles and a car club but we only saw a handful of people on the trail on a perfect fall day.

Check out the updated …

A short, fun, challenging rock scramble up Bonticou Crag and a hike to Table Rocks in New York's Shawangunks.

Our two cents: The Bonticou Crag rock scramble and the views from the top are the stars here and are a must-do. The rest of the hiking in this area is ok and while Table Rocks is worthwhile and has a nice view – it's not overly enthralling.

Trail surface: ranges from dirt woods roads to somewhat rocky…

Explore an ice cave, a waterfall, and enjoy spectacular views of the Shawangunks region and the Catskill mountains.

Seasonal Notes: The ice caves fill with ice and are closed until passable in spring or summer – but by late summer won’t have much or any ice in them. The falls can dwindle to a trickle in the…

Plenty of views and a few old mines on a hike up Black Rock and Hogencamp Mountain in Harriman State Park, NY.

Late August is usually hot so we'd planned a bike ride, but when the forecast showed hiking weather we quickly switched gears and opted for a hike.

To keep it simple I picked out an area in Harriman that we hadn’t been to in awhile and chose a hike…

We’d done this route just once, in March of 2010 (“Norvin Green – Lake Sonoma and Overlook Trails”). There were several expansive viewpoints so we wanted do it again when everything is in bloom.

Turns out there are a few less views with the leaves on the trees, but…

This hike was an example of why it’s good to have a backup plan or at least know of nearby hike options.

The parking lot for the Cooper Gristmill was roped off when we arrived... I knew that the Black River Trail can be picked up just down the road at Chubb Park or we could try the parking lot at Kay Center and start the loop from there – or…